Interview with Switchblade Symphony - EJ's, Portland, OR - 12/16/97

Tina: On one hand we have really been wanting to write. So
we have that to look forward to when we get finished here. While all the
traveling has been goof for us, including a trip to Japan, we still just want
to get back home and write.

Susan: This tour has been eight weeks long and we are
starting to hit the end of the touring cycle and the beginning of the recording
cycle. The end of this tour is a little different than the last one because at
the beginning of the 1996 summer tour we had already completed the new album,
but we really didn't get a chance to release it until the end of that tour.
That tour ended up being just a prelude to the release of "Bread & Jam
for Frances".

Jester: Is this the first time you have headlined a tour?

Susan: No. We headlined the tour with Sunshine Blind in
May. That ended up being a really good tour for us because it was our first
headliner, it was in the summertime, and we had just released the "Scrapbook"
CD. The weather was really great the whole trip, but this time the weather has
been especially lousy because it is winter. We think this had a little
effect on the size of the crowds, but they really haven't been too bad. Some of
the crowds haven't danced as much as we would like but we still try to
encourage it.

Tina: We really enjoy headlining, but for the next tour we
really want to try and open up for a larger band. The last time I heard we had
made the opening slot for the Sneaker Pimps tour which would be really good
exposure for us.

Jester: Do you think that you got a lot of good exposure
from opening the Sisters of Mercy show in Philadelphia last summer?

Tina: The press has been half good and half bad from that
show. For example the Sneaker Pimps see us as a token Gothic act, and that
hurts our chances of getting on that tour.

Susan: On the other hand we were able to play for 3500
people, which is more people than we have ever played for at one single event.
It was so cool to go onstage and see the crowd go wild.

Jester: Do you think that the new musical direction that
you have taken with the new album help you gain new fans?

Tina: We don't really look at it from the angle that it will
help us, it just happiness to be something that we do. "Serpentine Gallery" was
a collection of really old songs and really is not indicative of the style of
music that we now write. Now, all we are doing is writing music that represents
who we are while not trying to achieve anything but being faithful to who we
are. If people like it, that is great. We hope that the people who enjoyed out
first album, are open to our musical changes because we are always going to be
experimenting with new styles and sounds.

Susan: Back when we recorded our first demo, it was done on
a very low budget. For this album we had the finances to really make the music
sound good. In the past I wrote all of the material in my room and we only had
four days in the studio. The whole thing was really rushed, we didn't have the
resources and we were a great deal younger at the time. Now we have grown,
changed, evolved and improved and so our music has changed.

Tina: Touring really forces you to see other types of music,
other people, and different ways to live your life that make you want to try to
apply those experiences to your music. It definitely has kept us from having
tunnel vision, and has allowed us to write music with which everyone can
identify.

Jester: What brought about the drastic stylistic changes
between your albums?

Susan: All of the music that appears on the new album was
written immediately after the Christian Death tour over a year ago. Personally
I don't think it is that different.

Tina: One of the key things that I noticed was that Susan
got a sampler and she started to play around with drum loops and other sounds.

Susan: Honestly, it is hard for me to look at our music
from the outside because I am so intimately familiar with it. There are
definitely new elements on this album including trip-hop stuff and
scratching. The music is definitely a little bit lighter and more raw. The
vocals certainly don't have the same wash to them as on the first album. With
the new material I want to write, I want to work more towards the sound that
the original "Fable" demo was headed. I want to work more on the melodic side
of things. We are also both really into the groove thing right now. So we want
to write music that almost forces a person to dance to the song.

Jester: I definitely think that the new album does that
very well.

Tina: We also want to strive more towards a sophisticated
and sensual feel to is as well.

Jester: Have either of you had any type of vocal training?
How has it helped you?

Tina: I have, although I haven't had vocal lessons in years.
In school, I started out in theater, then choir and moved onto private lessons.
My teacher ended up being a classical vocal trainer and she wanted me to go to
Juliard and study Opera since I really enjoyed singing in that manner. In the
end I left because you can only sing one way in Opera and I really enjoyed
being able to sing in different character voices. In the end I learned just
enough to use the vocal range that I have now, but I still continue to
experiment with my voice.

Jester: Is 'Scrapbook' only a limited edition album that
you will sell on tour?

Susan: Yes. It is a self released cd that we put out at the
request of our fans. We only made 1500 copies. I don't even have a copy myself
now. We have no intention to make any more of them because I don't think it
would be fair to our audience. The whole point was that it was a special
release for those fans who had been with us from the beginning and that it
wasn't easy to obtain.

Tina: We also have a comic book out that we are selling on
tour. Unfortunately at this late stage we are out of it. However, it will be
available in stores very soon for anyone who didn't get a copy on tour.

Jester: How did you first get involved with writing music?

Susan: I started playing piano when I was five years old in
my grandmother's basement. I have always wanted to be in theater and plays. In
junior high I was in drama and choir s well as taking piano and
flute lessons. I used to memorize music before I could read it. I can read
music now, but not by sight, it takes some time for me to work out the notes.
Music has always come naturally to me.

Jester: Did you both write the new album by yourself, or
did the other members of the band help out?

Susan: All of the songs were written by me except 'Dirty
Dog' and 'Fractal' which we co-written by all four of us. Usually I write all
of the material in my room on the computer. Tina and I then go back and forth
with tapes, working with her vocals and my music to finish a song. For those
particular songs we felt that the boys' parts really helped make the song, so
we gave them credit.

Jester: Are you disappointed with the incorrect track order
on the new album?

Susan: Unfortunately 10,000 copies of the new album were
printed incorrectly and we did not find out about it until they were
shrinkwrapped and shipped. We are really upset about it and there is nothing we
can do to fix those. In fact there are several other errors on the artwork as
well, but they have all been fixed for future pressings of the album. We really
apologize to our fans about the errors.

Jester: How much of a role did you play in the artwork on
the new album?

Susan: I came up with the idea for the artwork. The title
is taken from a book that I loved as a child since it really summed up the
whole mood of the album. For the cover I wanted to appear like a person was
looking inside of our heads. The clock on the cover represents all of the
antique clocks that my father used to have when I was a child. The rats are
a reference to a T.S. Eliot poem called "The Hollow Men". The jars of pennies
are taken from the song 'Sweet'. The little girl's face is supposed be a window
into our minds. The bird is Tina and the cat is me.

Jester: That is definitely a great deal of symbolism for a
single album cover.

Susan: True, but it all came out like at once one evening
in front of the television. Perhaps that is why there were so many mistakes
because the artwork was all done at the last minute as a rushed affair. Johann,
who did all of the graphics worked day and night just to get it done on time,
so that might have also contributed.

Jester: Is there anything you would like to add in
conclusion?

Susan: I would like everyone who will read this to not
believe anything they hear about us unless it comes directly from us. We have
been hearing all sorts wild rumors from people on-line and it is starting to
really annoy us.

Tina: We really don't pay much attention to the on-line
community because so much of it is like a tabloid. We do really enjoy the
compliments and constructive criticism that we have heard but we dislike the
lies.

We would also love for people who come to our shows to dance. Your dancing
makes the show really special for us and it gives us a reason to get up in the
morning. It may be a little selfish, but we want the crowd to take a little
more responsibility for being a part of the show. We think that we really give
ourselves to the crowd so we want them to try and give us energy back. Those
fans are the reason why we are able to tour so we want them have fun.